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Stay inside, keep all pets inside and keep all doors and windows locked

Parenting group

Neighbourhood watchstyle groups, specifically set up to target the fake circus menaces, have been formed across the country to keep children safe.

One such group’s Facebook page in Cornwall said: “WARNING – clowns are allegedly planning their own purge the night before Halloween.

“Stay inside, keep all pets inside and keep all doors and windows locked.

“Show awareness to family and friends and anyone else who doesn’t really know about the clown purge spreading across towns and countries.”

Some are calling on parents to stop their children leaving the house altogether.

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"Killer" clowns have been scaring children and one man was stabbed in Sweden

Fremlin Walk Shopping Centre in Maidstone, Kent, has issued a blanket ban on all clowning activity.

A spokesman said: “We are a family shopping destination and the practise of deliberately trying to terrify unsuspecting members of the public, without any thought or knowledge of their physical or mental health, is unacceptable.”

The craze has swept not just the UK, but Europe and America.

A teenager was stabbed by someone wearing a clown mask in Varberg, southern Sweden, last week.

The youth was left with minor injuries following the attack, which happened when he went outside for a cigarette in the municipality, south of Gothenburg.